I've attended the RSS Guru Pooja after a long while. Nearly a decade. My dad was elated when I told him that I was going to attend the Guru pooja this time. He told me to keep in close touch with the organization. He was a regular reader of Organiser, and was friends with many Swayamsevaks, but could not be part of the organization, due to Government restrictions. After frequent location changes in the early 2000s, we lost touch with the organization.
I first off apologize to the fraternity for reaching late at the venue and to my mom for not following her words on punctuality. I felt feverish when I got up at 6 AM (with two alarms and a call from dad). So, slept again rescheduling the alarm to 7 AM, but when I woke the clock showed 7.55 AM. Feeling still drowsy, finished up the morning mandatory chores and grabbed THE HINDU from the stair case. Sat with the paper just to glance at the headlines, but dozed off. Woke up at 8.45 AM and had a double mind. Go, don't go.
Then, convinced myself to go, since I hadn't gone to a Sangh related event in the past decade except my online presence with the organization. So, took bath and finished Sandhyavandhanam by 9.40 AM. Then started off for T.Nagar. Upon reaching T.Nagar, I asked a fellow with Khaki pants and shirt (seemed perfectly fit to be an auto driver) how to go to Krishna Gana Sabha. He told the route and I started off in that direction, but in seconds realized that he had guided me to Thyaga Brahma Gana sabha aka Vani Mahal. Called my friend and asked him about the route and he told me an entirely different direction. Trusting a friend is far better than trusting a stranger, so walked in the way my friend told me. And finally reached the venue.
Found a couple of uniformed Swayamsevaks at the entrance and checked in after registering my name and other details. Someone was telling that the pooja had already started and people who came then were late. Realizing my mom's words were true "RSS would be strict with time. Go early." But convinced myself again with the English saying "Better late than never" and went into the hall. Mr.Ram Madhav (whom I had seen only in TV so far) was addressing the gathering. His speech was not arousing BP, nor egging on people to accept his words, but made people think why not?
His words on the so-crowned intellectuals, was really thought provoking, and I started collecting information to write in my blog about how Das Kapital was misconstrued by Indian Communists. How they had failed to adapt that to Indian ethos and started pushing the European peasant's ethos upon their Indian counterparts. Nothing could be a success if not naturalized to the land of migration. So, is communism, Christianity, Islam etc.
I wonder whether Mr. Madhav knew the fact that Christianity is getting Indianised in the deep south as they conduct car festival, mala dharan (like Sabhari mala yatra) to go to Velankanni. The famous Chandana Koodu of Ervadi Durha in Ramnad district is an adaptation. Instead of lamenting about 85 years of witch hunt by alleged KGB sleepers, why can't the Sangh take to works like temple cleaning, giving free tuition to needy children (strictly by the school syllabus initially), and slowly get into teaching them the Hindu ethos of respecting parents, elders, fellow humans and other living beings. This method would be good to gain ground in a atheism infested place like Tamil Nadu.
By such steps, we could gain ground in the households in the first place, then move on to the society on a whole. Change, even though damn good, would not be welcome for all. If we wish to change the 100s of years of mental corruption started by the British and proudly carried forward by those so-crowned intellectuals, we gotta be slow, steady and ready to patiently work towards the goal.
Thought to open my mind, tell what I felt about the issues discussed there. I know Sangh has so many great minds, and heavy duty scholars in the decision making arena. But, thought to help out like the squirrel in Ramayana, so wrote this. Thanks for your time spent in reading my writing. Your comments are welcome. Corrections would be accepted. Thiruchitrambalam.